Belcoo boss Michael McGillen led his side to a late charge that kept them in Division Two of the League.

That was the club’s objective as late wins over Roslea, Devenish and Derrylin ensured their safety in the topflight.

But cagey McGillen is very wary of the challenge of a Maguiresbridge side that is speckled with dual stars as the teams lock horns in the first round of the Intermediate Championship in Belcoo on Sunday.

However, McGillen hopes that surviving a tough season, when they lost quite a number of players, will stand to them against a Bridge side that will field dual stars like Danny Teague, Rory Porteous, Luca McCusker and Caolan Duffy while Ryan Hyde is also a major figure.

“We had a slow enough start to the season, but we stayed in Division One and we won the games we needed to win.

“We beat Roslea, Devenish and Derrylin and they were vital wins and our target for the year was to stay in Division One but also to go a step further in the Intermediate Championship.

“We lost a lot of players through injury at the start of the year, like James McGrath, Barry McGovern, Ciaran Leonard, Ryan McGovern and Paul McGrath as well.

“So, we had to bring young lads on, and they stood up very well to the challenge.”

He added: “But of course, Ciaran Flaherty keeps the whole thing ticking on. He is vastly experienced, and his leadership is priceless for us, but it was a monumental achievement staying in Division One considering all the injuries we had.

“We are hoping to give the Intermediate a rattle, but we are in a very tricky group and I would say the Intermediate Championship is the most competitive that I have seen it in a number of years.

“There are six of seven of those teams who would rightly fancy their chances.

“We have Maguiresbridge in our first game and you just never know what they might bring so we are very wary of them.

“They have a number of hurlers who bring a whole new dynamic so we can’t afford to be complacent.

“They did not have a good League run but championship football is totally different and we also have Roslea and Tempo so you could not ask for a tougher group.”

McGillen added that he would be just happy with a narrow win over the Bridge.

“I would be very happy to get a one-point win.

“We have Michael Burns, Ryan Leonard, Gerard McHugh, Michael McGourty and Josh Killilea is also a steady player and Conor McAloon, Larry McKeown and ‘Fla’ up the middle and this is a very well-balanced side.

“They are very committed, and we started training in November first so it has been a long season, but they are a good mix of experience and youth and I am hoping that we can improve on last year’s run in the championship.

“Some may see us as favourites, but I don’t buy that at all as there are about seven teams who could win this championship.

“It will be some championship.”